Strategic and Organizational Communication

Summary

Internal Communications Manager

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Develop and implement strategic messaging of organizational initiatives and projects, then successfully communicate those objectives to employees and organizational stakeholders on a consistent basis. This role typically works with a variety of mediums, such as a staff intranet, monthly magazine or regular email bulletin.

Median salary: $78,533
Top earners: $119,000+ (with more than nine years of experience)
Expected growth: 10% from 2016-2026

Summary

Management Analyst

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Propose ways to improve an organization’s efficiency by information gathering, conducting interviews with key personnel, analyzing financial data and making recommendations to managers on how to reduce costs and increase revenues.

Median salary: $83,610
Expected growth: 14% from 2018-2028

Summary

Public Relations Manager

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Plan and direct public relations programs that create a positive public image for an organization or business. This role also oversees press releases and communications with media, works with advertising and marketing staff to target advertising campaigns and manages internal communications.

Median salary: $75,700 (with a master’s degree)
Top earners: $96,000+
Expected growth: 10% from 2016-2026

Summary

Marketing Communications Director

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Provide strategic leadership of the communications and marketing department for a business or organization, which includes implementation of strategic plans, approval of marketing programs, and direction of internal and external communications.

Median salary: $84,800
Top earners: $105,000+ (with a master’s degree)
Expected growth: 10% from 2016-2026

Summary

Marketing Communications Manager

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Develop or refine communications and brand strategy for a company or organization. This role also oversees the marketing activities with a focus on maintaining positive brand awareness, building and retaining a strong customer base, analyzing business competition and supervising marketing communication staff.

Median salary: $72,850
Top earners: $107,000+ (with more than nine years of experience)
Expected growth: 10% from 2016-2026

Summary

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Organizations are created through the process of communication, whether in the form of verbal agreements, written policies or enacted behaviors. As a result, organizational communication is highly interdisciplinary. It is inextricably linked to management, sociology, psychology and organizational behavior.

Managing Communication is about the process of understanding the systems, structures and processes that are integral to creating and maintaining organizations. This survey course will work through a model of organizational design to touch on a wide variety of the macro-level areas of the field of organizational communication, including the organizational structure, partnerships, networks, teams, culture and reward systems.

Summary

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An understanding of research methods is essential to successfully navigate the current professional business world. In this course we consider research from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective.

The course is designed around the principle that the best way to learn is via doing. Each week students apply the instructional materials to a range of problems simulating real-world scenarios. The course presents a range of methodological approaches, and multiple opportunities are provided to tailor the assignments to student personal interests.

Summary

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Crisis happens. Sometimes an organization is faced with a crisis due to forces outside their control (e.g., natural disasters, pandemics, supply chain interruptions); at other times, an organization faces a crisis of its own making (e.g., accidents, product failures, scandals). Facilitating crisis prevention, detection, management, and change through effective organizational communication, inside and outside the organization, can determine the outcome difference between organizational destruction and organization survival, adaptation, and renewal.

Summary

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Throughout this course, you will learn how to think critically about research by asking good questions and applying rigorous methods and models to data. You will also practice using research to answer business questions. As industries become increasingly competitive, organizations are relying more and more on data to make more informed decisions. This reality requires individuals who understand not only how to interpret data, but how research can be designed to optimize the quality of research findings.

This course has been designed to provide you with grounding in the overall process of research design, to build your competence as a communicator of complex research findings, as well as to help you gain practical skills in some of the most common research methods. You will have the opportunity to learn course concepts through the development of a marketing research project for a client. Throughout the semester you will work with a team and use research to answer your client’s questions and provide recommendations. The final product will be presented to your clients.

Summary

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More and more organizations find they have to be much more strategic in their communication with their stakeholders. No more can a company or a nonprofit focus on its key messages at the expense of stakeholder perception. This class simulates the issues and stakeholders a U.S. publicly held company has to deal with on a regular basis. The class members play the role of the chief communication officer and create data-based strategic communication plans. Students work both on group and individual assignments throughout the semester.

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Communication in Work Settings focuses on internal communication topics (e, g., manager-employee and peer communication). Equal emphasis is placed on theoretical understanding and practical applications.

A strong theoretical foundation is required to ensure that decisions about communication practices are based on sound research rather than popularized myths. That is, how is a concept studied by academics and why do we want to build/test theories about the concept? Concomitantly, how is the concept treated by practitioners and consultants? Your (future) employers are counting on you to be able to collect and evaluate the most recent research about topics that they are concerned about. Topics covered include: foundations of organizational communication and competencies; leadership, delegation and coaching; destructive workplace communication – workplace bullying and incivility; employee engagement and building trust; emotions in the workplace; organizational culture.

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The context of the class is the organization and the role communication plays in developing and implementing business strategy. Students assess and make recommendations on live organizational change projects. Course pulls from corporate case studies as well as current theory.

Topics include business strategy, the role of the change agent, change models and their application, building ad-free brand communities, power, organizational politics and leadership. Students practice using change management tools and techniques while assessing organizational change efforts from both a theoretical and practical perspective. This course prepares students to lead change within the reality of today’s modern organizations.

Summary

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Engage the theory and practice of social influence processes used every day to inform, change people’s attitudes, change behavioral intentions, change behaviors, and/or change beliefs and norms. This course reviews traditional social psychological communication theories as well as current trends such as viral advertising, word of mouth, “influencer” campaigns, uses of social media, games (both “serious games” and “alternative reality games”) and transmedia narratives. Students will learn how to be effective in persuading an audience, understand why audiences respond to messages the way they do as well as the underlying processes or theories that explain success and failure in a persuasion campaign.

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In this course you will engage in detailed research-orientated examination of a topic. Topic selection is guided via a discussion with your instructor to design an achievable research goal that fulfills the goals of the program and your goals as an individual.

This course serves as the capstone experience of the program and as such is oriented to allow you to produce your best work while demonstrating what you have learned in the program. Due to the individually tailored and student-oriented research projects, each student engages in very different work, which results in very different final deliverables.

Summary

How do I start a career in communication management?

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Launching a successful communication management career begins with the right education. To start, you should build foundational knowledge by completing a bachelor’s degree in communications or a related field and acquiring some relevant work experience. From there, consider earning an online Master of Communication Management, which provides aspiring communication professionals with a deep understanding of topics integral to the field. It also allows them to engage in hands-on projects that build their practical knowledge. With a solid grounding in everything from organizational communication to communication strategies and research, alongside newly honed skills, Master of Communication Management degree holders are ready to explore career opportunities in the field of communication.

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What industries can I work in through communication management?

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Professionals in communication management have a dynamic range of career options. Organizations in almost every industry need communication management to craft their messaging, promote their brands and handle their internal and external communications. You can find communication careers in the public and private sectors in industries as diverse as health care, finance and transportation.

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How much do communication management graduates make?

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What can you do with a master’s in communication, and how much do you stand to earn? While communication management graduates have many choices when it comes to the type of career to pursue, they should consider potential salary differences. As with any field, higher-level management positions that require the most extensive experience bring in more lucrative salaries. Middle management positions still bring in respectable, albeit more modest, incomes. For example, chief communication officers may command salaries that reach well above $200,000, whereas communication managers might be able to command salaries as high as $102,000 a year.

Summary

Is a degree in communication management worth it?

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A degree in communication management is especially versatile. It offers graduates the opportunity to explore careers in many areas, including marketing, public relations and advertising. It also trains professionals in both practical and theoretical communication practices, giving them a competitive edge in the workplace. With an online Master of Communication Management, you will have the potential to not only earn more but also expand your career opportunities in the field of communication.